Quarterback Perry Hills attempts to escape pressure during the Terps’ 31-15 loss to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 31, 2015. 

The Terrapins football team returns to Byrd Stadium this Saturday against Wisconsin, but the offense doesn’t get a break.

In the Terps’ first home game in five weeks, they’ll face a Wisconsin team that features the nation’s best scoring defense. It’s the fifth straight game in which the Terps will face a squad ranked in the top 16 of that category.

The offense’s performances have fluctuated against those stout defenses. It has scored 28 points or more twice during this stretch, but it also scored a touchdown or less against Michigan and Iowa.

If the Terps want to end a five-game losing streak and maintain bowl eligibility, the attack needs to produce against the Badgers, who allow 11 points per game. That starts with holding onto the football, as the Terps are last in the NCAA with 28 turnovers, four more than the second-worst total.

“All the fumbles and interceptions need to stop,” quarterback Perry Hills said. “That’s what’s killing us right now. We can move the ball up and down the field on any team. It’s just the drive-killers.”

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In the past four games against those top-tier defenses, the Terps had 14 turnovers, including a Hills interception last week that No. 10 Iowa returned for a score. The offense had nearly five yards a carry against the Hawkeyes but had one offensive touchdown in the 31-15 loss.

Even so, the Terps have had success finding the end zone against other quality defenses.

In former coach Randy Edsall’s final game, the Terps put up 28 points against Ohio State, the most the Buckeyes have allowed this season. And while two other schools scored more than 21 points against Ohio State through eight games this season, the Terps eclipsed that total early in the third quarter.

The Terps also scored 30 points against Penn State in their next game, but they committed five turnovers. Against the Badgers, who are allowing eight points per game since the season opener, similar mistakes likely will result in a Terps loss.

“We have to make our own luck,” freshman tight end Avery Edwards said. “That comes down to fine-tuning the little details.”

A pair of hybrid outside linebackers, Joe Schobert and Vince Biegel, lead the Badgers defense, which is third in the country in total defense. The duo has combined to produce half of the Badgers’ tackles for loss and more than half of the team’s sacks.

Interim coach Mike Locksley said the linebackers’ success starts with the defensive scheme. The Badgers alternate between using four and three defensive linemen. Schobert, a former walk-on, often switches between defensive end and outside linebacker.

“They create matchup issues,” Locksley said. “They’re going to create five one-on-one blocks up front.”

The numbers suggest that it gets easier for the Terps offense going forward, as their final three opponents are ranked 37th or lower in scoring defense.

But for now, the Terps are focused on cracking the Badgers’ airtight defense.

And if they limit the turnovers, Hills said, this offense could score against anybody.

“We can be a very, very dangerous offense,” Hills said.